


A Mysterious Summer

by roxyofheart



Category: Gravity Falls, Reverse Falls - Fandom
Genre: Alternate Universe - Magic, Alternate Universe - Reverse Falls (Gravity Falls), Angst, Daddy Issues, Death, Drowning, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, Explicit Language, Forced Relationship, Gen, Gravity Falls References, Gravity Falls Spoilers, Grief/Mourning, Incestuous Intrusive Thoughts, Intrusive Thoughts, Lack of Morality, Major Gross Warning, Metaphors, Mind Reading, Mommy Issues, Multi, Mutilation, Non-Explicit Sex, Nsfw content, OCD, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, Please Be Attentive To All The Trigger Warnings As They Are All Present In Themes Of The Story, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Psychological Incest, Psychological Trauma, Psychopathology & Sociopathy, References to Depression, Sexual Themes, This Is NOT a Light-Hearted Story And I Use Some Parts Of It To Vent My Traumatized Mind, Violence, brother issues, trigger warning
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-04
Updated: 2021-03-05
Packaged: 2021-03-15 21:53:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Underage
Chapters: 6
Words: 16,489
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28571064
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/roxyofheart/pseuds/roxyofheart
Summary: Gideon had no idea how to save his summer. He was tired of the journals, tired of all the torture. He was terrified of the Tent of Telepathy. Maybe they weren't such a great team after all.(Where Pacifica and Gideon fought to survive, and Dipper and Mabel fought to win).
Relationships: Dipper Gleeful/Pacifica Southeast
Comments: 21
Kudos: 22





	1. Tourist Trapped

**Author's Note:**

> Hello. I will be posting a new chapter every Thursday, at 18:00 Brasília - DF Time (GMT-3). This story is a new writing experience for me, I hope I can pull it off and that y'all like reading it :)

Gideon Pines

“Good for my health” was the worst excuse he had ever thought of. He couldn't even settle on a reason to throw me away. Mom seemed to accept it, though, because she hated me too. And so there I was, in the town of Gravity Falls, away from my parents who both hated me.

If I was going to be honest, I thought that I'd be there longer. I thought that they were _actually_ throwing me out this time, actually putting me into the furthest family house they could find. But no, it was "just for the summer", as he'd always say. We both wished it was longer, I had to admit.

At least the house looked nice. The walls were made of wood and everything looked hand-painted. And the shop was _insane_.

My uncle’s house was a fancy bookstore named the "Mystery Shack". They sold clothes, artifacts found around town, and obviously, books. There were so many shelves, so many covers to judge and summaries to read. My uncle’s wife, Melody, said that I could take any book that I wanted to, without even having to pay. I promised her that I'd choose something and take care of it. And then she smiled.

I loved Melody's smile. It was just like in any picture of her. In fact, when I found out that my uncle wasn't even home, I wasn't disappointed to be with her. She just looked so sweet, like such a good person to be around. I didn't even have to remember the fact that my parents hadn't checked where my uncle was going to be. She was enough, for now.

Pacifica was there too, sharing a bedroom and everything. My best friend in the world accepting to travel with me meant that maybe that summer wouldn’t be so terrible after all, because being away from home, I needed time to get used to everything. It would be good to have someone like her around, someone who loved me, someone who could make me better, and someone I was used to.

“What color’s your toothbrush?” I asked her. She stared up at me, from laying down in her new bed, replying, “orange”.

She was smiling, just like Melody always was. Her smile, beautiful as usual, colorful braces going surprisingly well with her long blond hair. Her clothes were bright like she liked them to be, and I noticed she wore a coat even though it wasn't cold.

“It’s so hot out, Pacifica”.

“You have no idea how long I took to sew this. I'm keeping it!" she replied, still smiling.

Melody showed us on a little tour around the house, and then left for work. The shop was closed for the day, so it was just me and Pacifica. She, thriving at every single cool thing she saw (everything was cool for her), and I, trying to keep up with all she was saying.

"Where did Melody say the library was?" I asked. It was really easy to get lost in that house, or, the “Mystery Shack”.

"I... think it was behind that door?" she pointed. "What do you think is on the TV?"

She turned the TV on, and I went straight to the door. Behind it, the huge shelves. "Be right back," I said.

Pacifica shook her head, sitting on the floor and playing with the channels. "Don't get lost!"

Entering that room was weird. I knew I wasn’t so tall but I felt even smaller next to those books. They were just so big, most of them looked so heavy, and I felt bad for the poor thin ones being pressed between the hundred gigantic ones. _That_ was a library, just like the ones I had seen in every videogame I'd ever played. It looked nothing like the library from my school, and it definitely looked darker.

I read so many titles, wondering if there were any nice bookstores back in California (because, wow, that was fun!). “The Light of Tomorrow”, I saw one of the titles say. “Leaning Forever”, “The Movement of the People”, “Craving More”, “What You Wish Existed”... And nothing looked interesting.

I wanted something new to read, and even more, I wanted something big. A thick, long book that I could spend the whole summer reading, ignoring that forest infested by mosquitoes and the way too many rocks on the floor. Maybe I could even spend the whole time in my room, reading a nice story and forgetting that I wasn’t home. That would just be ideal.

Then I saw it for the first time. One of the only hard-cover books there seemed to be around there. Its side was brown, or maybe dusty orange, and it was hanging alone on one of those shelves.

That book looked so old… I was scared of holding it ‘cause hard-covers tended to be more expensive. I still looked at it, though. The cover was so beautiful, a golden hand which had six fingers and the number “3” on top of it.

No, I had to resist it. I couldn’t get a book like that for free.

But at the same time...

“Gideon!” I heard Pacifica call me and turned around. The books could wait.

“What’s wrong?”

“Hey, look at this!”

Pacifica pointed at the TV, where there were two people, a boy and a girl. They looked our age but didn’t act like it. “Who’s that?” I asked. “They said they’re the Gleeful Twins or something. They’re magicians!”

I shook my head. “Magicians?”

“Yeah, they live here in Gravity Falls! And their commercial is playing on every channel!”

Of course, Gravity Falls had its own town channels. It was a tiny place after all. There wasn’t even a restaurant anywhere.

"The Gleeful Twins?"

“Wanna ask Melody where to see their show?”

The television answered her right away. “Come down to the Tent of Telepathy, where miracles can be both felt... and seen”.

“That’s a weird advertisement”.

“Gideon, they’re so cool! You had to see them! If my eyes weren’t so glued to the boy I would’ve called you sooner!”

“Sorry, I was busy seeing the books. I found a cool one but was kinda scared to read it. It looked expensive". Pacifica seemed to be more interested in those Gleeful twins than in my expensive book. But how were we going to get tickets? Where was that place? I had barely paid attention to the end of the commercial, where in town was the “Tent of Telepathy”? And why did that name sound so fitting for that strange place?

I wished I had taken a longer look at those two, ‘cause they were maybe too fancy for Gravity Falls. I wanted to see more than just the fact that they had brown hair and blue clothes and maybe work out whether it was a bad idea or not to try and go to their show. Their commercial _was_ playing on every single channel… There had to be a reason for them to be so known.

“Well. Anyway! Let’s call Melody!”

“No!” I said. “No, let’s not call Melody”.

“Why not?”

"We're not going to bother Melody, she's working. We don't even know what she does for a living. No. We're not calling her".

Pacifica shrugged. “Alright. Then let’s go to town ourselves. See if we can find their show!”

As much as I didn’t want to admit it, that was a better idea.

Pacifica and I turned off the TV and left through the door that we knew for _sure_ was the front door. Going out. Wow. That really wasn’t something I thought I’d do in Gravity Falls, but Pacifica looked like she wanted to watch a show really badly.

She didn’t have to say much, I could see it in her eyes. Every time she talked about something, I could sense how much she wanted it. And a magician show? It didn’t sound like something that happened every day. I couldn’t miss the chance of making her happy.

That town was so small, we walked for one minute and had already visited a whole street. There was a park, there was a diner, and there were multiple small houses every now and then, but no sign of anything named the “Tent of Telepathy”. But we eventually found it. It wasn’t what I expected because it was _actually_ a tent. And I had been expecting something more… sturdy. Like an events house, or a museum. But it was a tent, surrounded by a dense collection of trees, seemingly not so far away, and showing a big colorful star on top. “I saw that in the commercial!”

There was something written on the star but I couldn’t see what it was. “Sir. Excuse me. Is that the Tent of Telepathy?”

“Oh, yeah, it is! The Gleeful Twins’ Tent of Telepathy,” he smiled. “You’re new here, huh?”

Was it that obvious?

“The Gleeful Twins have performed for us for years, every single Sunday. They’ve grown up with the town, we’ve seen them grow up”.

“How old are they?"

“That doesn’t matter, Gideon, Sunday! That’s tomorrow!” Pacifica interrupted. The man nodded with a smile. “We have to go get tickets!”

“You can get tickets directly at the tent. I believe they’re only sold until Friday, but you guys can try”.

“What do the… twins do again?”

“They do all kinds of stuff! Sometimes they come to the town festivals and levitate objects all around! They can also tell the future and read minds, from what I’ve heard”.

I stared at him, and then back at the tent. Telekinesis? Mind reading? We needed to go.

We thanked the man and started walking into the forest and towards the tent, hoping that they’d still have tickets. I could see the symbol on top much more clearly now, and the closed curtains, which were shining in a strange blue light that came from the inside.

I looked at the poster stuck to one of the trees. “Presentations every Sunday!”

Maybe they were rehearsing, but I didn’t know if magicians even rehearsed. The thought wouldn’t leave my head: why did everyone in town know two kid magicians? Were they that good?

“Hey, you sure this is a good idea?”

“What, why?” And I didn’t know how to respond. “I don’t know. Maybe we shouldn’t bother them like this”.

Before Pacifica could even think of an answer, the curtains opened and a man appeared. He had light blue hair and a triangular eyepatch over the left side of his face. He wore fancy clothes that I _did_ pay attention to this time and… wow. Overwhelmingly blue.

He stared at us with the most neutral of expressions, maybe waiting for us to speak. I wondered who he was. I wondered why he was dressed like that.

“Gideon Pines?” he asked with a weak voice. “And Pacifica Southeast?”

I widened my eyes. I could feel my heart stop beating for a short second and coming back when he stared at me again. “W-” I tried to say, but he was quicker to continue.

“We’ve been expecting you”.

I said to myself that I knew there was something about him. Besides knowing our names, he was just so… ethereal. He didn’t look like a person, definitely not like a normal human being. I had questions. Questions about him. Questions about that place. Questions and a _need_ to run away from that _man_ who was in the middle of the woods with us. I had questions and fear and the blue-haired one-eyed man added one to the pile with every single glare he gave me, every single straight glare into my eyes.

I felt like he was reading me. Reading my mind. Reading my soul. Seeing inside of me.

Even though I _knew_ those things didn’t exist.

“You have?”

I turned to Pacifica to wonder _how_ she found the strength to respond to him. His outfit… it just looked so unsettling. The blue suit, the bow tie… The long top hat that was… floating?

Magic tricks. Magic tricks had to make sense.

“Master Mason and Madam Mabel knew you two would come. They saved seats for you”.

He handed us a pair of tickets and my heart was _fast_. “Pacifica, let’s leave”.

She didn’t move, maybe she couldn’t move, but I couldn’t move either. She eventually used her arms to grab the tickets from the man’s hand, which was exactly what I wouldn’t have done in her situation.

Shit. Shit. Shit. We really needed to run.

“Welcome to the Tent of Telepathy”.

“Uh…” _Pacifica, stop talking._ “Thank you… sir. I- What?”

The man didn’t do anything else, and before he could say anything, the curtains moved again, and another one appeared. That was him, the guy from the commercial. He had dark brown hair and I could see his dark blue eyes now. He was also wearing a lot of blue, which was obviously their theme.

“I’ll take it from here, William,” was the first thing that he said, with a polite smile on his face. He looked at us with an indecipherable expression and I knew he was definitely a kid. Eighteen at most.

His skin was soft, and his eyes were unbelievable.

The blue-haired guy, _William_ , looked at the ground as if he was scared of the other’s presence, and then went back inside, leaving me and Pacifica with yet another complete stranger.

“Hello,” the twin began. I hoped my face didn’t make it clear how scared I was, how terrified I was that a strange man knew my name. Maybe I was even scared of the twin too. Maybe he’d be as scary as William was. “How may I help you?”

Pacifica was the first to speak. “Uh… Hi! Hi, I’m…”

She stopped, and maybe thought about how William _knew her name_. I could feel she was trying to continue but couldn’t.

“New in town?” he asked. I nodded. “I’m Mason Gleeful. Or Dipper, if you’d like”.

 _Mason_. Mason Gleeful. Dipper Gleeful sounded better.

“Where are you two from?”

“California," I blurted out. “Piedmont”.

Dipper kept staring at me. He had no expression, only the frowns around his eyes. Maybe he was thinking about my name that he probably knew too. Maybe he made me nervous. And maybe the fact that he looked human wasn’t enough to make me feel _less_ nervous.

“No, stupid,” he replied while staring into my eyes. “I mean here. Which family you’re from”.

“Uh, we’re here with Melody! And… Jesus Ramirez. His uncle”.

The way Dipper turned to look at Pacifica made me almost regret not being able to reply myself. Was that… bad? Was an expressionless stare bad?

But he smiled. He went back to the smile he was showing when he first showed up, and that was less bad.

But why did he smile sarcastically like that?

“Oh, right, the Mystery Shack people. I _could_ tell”.

I didn’t know what he meant, but it didn’t matter. “I-”

Pacifica took over for me. “Uh, anyway! Hi! Uh… We’re here for… tickets, I think. But… your handso- your butler just gave me a pair. Which… was probably a mistake. Here you go”.

“No, no, he was supposed to,” Dipper extended his arm to pull Pacifica’s back, but not touching her in any way. “You see, presentations are always free. For newcomers. You didn’t know?”

I shook my head without realizing it. “Uh-uh”.

“But… How did he know we’re newcomers? Does he know everyone in town?”

“No. How did he know our names?”

Dipper and Pacifica both turned to me when I interrupted. He stared into my eyes again, and she probably did too, but I was too busy looking at him to notice.

His eyes were _very_ dark blue.

“Oh!” he said. “Yeah, right, of course”.

He let out a quick breathy giggle, touching his face and then looking back at us. 

“That’s something William does. Every time there’s a newcomer, he says their name so they’ll be surprised and come to the show. It’s sort of a welcome”.

That answered absolutely _nothing_.

“Oh, so there hasn’t been a newcomer in a while?”

“No, there hasn’t. Pacifica, isn’t it?”

Pacifica smiled, the biggest smile she could smile, and I stared at her. “Yeah”.

“Not many people visit Gravity Falls. It’s nice to meet the two of you,” Dipper continued. “Pacifica… and Gideon”.

I interrupted him because he answered _nothing_. “But. How? How did he know our names?”

“Hey, what’s going on out here?”

Before Dipper could even process my question, he turned left to where a voice was coming from. A woman appeared next to him, clearly his twin sister that I had seen on TV, long brown hair and shiny blue eyes. Eyes just like his, and perfect skin. The other Gleeful Twin.

She stared at me, and at Pacifica, and then at Dipper. Her smile was really pretty, and her lipstick really red. She looked taller than me, but I couldn’t tell.

“Dipper? Are these newcomers?”

And Dipper, or _Mason_ , turned to her. His smile burned down, and turned into just a smirk. They looked really good next to one another, like they fit well together.

They were identical. And identically creepy.

“Yes,” Dipper replied. “Mabel, these are… Pacifica and Gideon”.

“Hello. Nice to meet you!”

I looked at Pacifica and saw her awkward but beautiful smile towards the really stunning girl. Mabel was much more readable than her brother, she had a face which _showed_ expressions instead of just looking good. Her smile had no braces, and maybe Pacifica noticed that.

“Shy crowd, huh?” she continued. “Hello, my name is Mabel Gleeful, and I’m the star of the Tent of Telepathy”. Mabel winked and Dipper rolled his eyes, staring right with an annoyed expression. She kept looking at me with a beautiful smile, and then at Pacifica, also not giving me any answers.

“Nice to meet you!” Pacifica went ahead.

“Did Will give you cuties the tickets?” She saw the paper in Pacifica’s hand, and kept smiling.

She smiled differently than Pacifica. Her smile didn’t look sweet, although it was gorgeous. I wasn’t sure what it was about the red lipstick but there was something really unsettling about seeing it move with her beautiful lips. I couldn't understand.

“That’s great to hear,” she was just so stunning, too perfect to be human. “I hope you enjoy our show tomorrow night, Gideon and Pacifica”.

I had no idea what was going on, or what to do. Dipper had really structured cheekbones, didn’t he? Maybe he was perfect too. Maybe it wasn’t just Mabel.

“We have to rehearse now,” she said, smiling at us and then frowning at Dipper. “Emergency”.

Dipper nodded. “You two can leave now. We’ll see you at the show”.

“Wow, way to be rude, you jerk,” Mabel complained. “I’m sorry for my brother, I don’t know what got into him”.

“You two are so cool”.

I stared at Pacifica but I wasn’t too surprised that she said that. Mabel nodded, and shot the most confusing expression she could at her. 

“Yes, I am,” her smile bright and wide. “You’ll see even more at the show. I hope you like my outfits, and my voice, and my magic, and my-”

“Mabel,” Dipper called. “Emergency, you said”.

He turned his back to us, and entered the tent leaving Mabel behind. “Oh. Right. Emergency, brother. Well. I’ll see you at the show”.

Pacifica was _smiling_ , not at all scared. “Wait!”

Mabel stayed. “What?”

“This… This is all part of the show, isn’t it?”

Mabel didn’t seem to understand, but she smiled politely anyway. Or maybe it was a sarcastic smile.

“You knew we were coming here, ‘cause you’re fortune-tellers! That’s why you knew our names!”

She grabbed my arm, and then jumped. She once again did exactly what I wouldn’t have done in her situation, and then turned to me to say:

“Gideon, we're part of the show already!”

Mabel looked at me. “Is she always like this?”

“I sure am! Are you always this perfect, seer lady?”

And then Mabel smiled. She seemed to have had forgotten about her emergency, so Dipper came back on scene, holding the curtains open.

“Sure, Pacifica,” he began. “Your future’s been crossed with the Gleeful twins. And you do not, _ever_ , ignore that”. Pacifica nodded as Mabel rolled her eyes. “Now leave. We’re busy”.

All I wanted was to leave. That was _all_ I wanted.

“Wait! Again…” Pacifica yelled. “Can you see anything about me? Can you read my mind?”

Dipper sighed. He fixed his blue eyes on her blue eyes, and he said:

“Your heart’s beating fast”.

Pacifica jumped excitedly, exclaiming that it really was. I touched her shoulder to try to make her calm down, and Mabel definitely was staring at her.

“Goodbye”.

I turned to Pacifica when they left, wanting to run away.

She started walking, and I started marching next to her. I needed to be home and think about what had happened. I needed to have Pacifica distract me with something, to let her know how fucked up it was that we had gone into the forest alone. Sure, Gravity Falls seemed safe. But was it really? How could we know? How could we trust Melody’s words? How could we trust anything?

And why did Mason- Dipper… have an expression that was so undecipherable, an expression I had never seen on my dad’s face before?

There were too many questions, and no answers, absolutely none. All I had was Pacifica’s voice.

And that had to be enough.

“They’re so nice!” she said. I couldn't hold it to myself.

“We can’t go to the show”.

“What?”

I thought about what to say. “I mean… Should we? We barely know this town yet, we don’t even know what their show is about, and they just gave us _free_ tickets for no reason. Aren’t you skeptical of this?”

“What a surprise, Gideon and his trust issues,” she replied. “No, Gideon, there was a reason. We’re new in town, remember? They do that with everyone”.

“You think people come here? Really? Melody said no one really visits Gravity Falls for more than one day. No one”.

Pacifica nodded, her boots made noise when she stepped on the leaves. “Melody doesn’t know _everything_ , she can’t know these things! Logically, she can’t know”.

She used the word I knew I would listen to. “Logically”.

“Pacifica, this town is _tiny_. Of course she knows everything about it". I knew that didn’t make sense, but it still sounded accurate to me. “And that doesn’t matter. That butler knew _our name_ ”.

“Maybe Melody told them”.

And that, didn’t make much sense, but it was the most perfectly logical explanation I knew I’d be able to find. I decided I’d go with it.

“You’re right,” I said. “I’m worrying too much”.

She smiled. “So you’re going to the show?”

I thought about it. I didn’t want to. I loved magic, sure, and it _had_ to have been Melody who told them our names. We could go… Nothing too bad could happen, right? They were on television, the place wouldn’t exactly be empty, and it _was_ for free.

Yeah, I couldn’t waste an opportunity like that just out of fear, Dipper and Mabel had to be good people. “Yeah. I’m going”.

Pacifica smiled wide, and walked towards me to create a hug. “Ouch,” her hair kept falling on my face, and I didn’t want to just stop walking. “Okay, okay. I get it”.

“I love youuuu,” she said.

“I love you too”.

“Now let’s get you out of the sun! Your skin’s starting to get red”.

“Ah, fuck”.

* * *

It was late when Melody finally arrived home. She looked tired, exactly how one would be after a whole day of work. I was so thoughtful on that evening that I didn’t even think of asking her what she did for a living.

I had to know about the Gleeful Twins.

“Aunt Melody”.

“Hey, dear! Isn’t Pacifica with you?”

“She’s in the shower,” I wanted to get to the point. “Hey, do you know the Gleeful Twins?”

She nodded with a smirk. “Of course!”

Alright. That answered a lot.

“In person?”

“I’ve met them in person a lot, yes,” she giggled. “It’s Gravity Falls, sweetie”.

Right. It was Gravity Falls. Her town and their town. Very small town.

I remembered everything I had heard about the town before I went there. I remembered my mom telling me about Gravity Falls, when I was really young. The town had always been so abstract in my head, so invisible, and I never thought I would ever visit it, especially not while my uncle was on a business trip.

It was so strange to be there.

“Did you choose a book, Gideon?” Melody brought me out of my thoughts. “Uh… Not yet”.

“And why not?” she asked. I didn’t exactly have an answer. “You’re not scared that you’re gonna get them dirty, right?”

I didn’t reply, and she understood the answer. She smiled and shook her head.

“Gideon, I said you could get any book you wanted to”.

“Even that one with the hand on top?”

“Hm, I don’t know which one that is. But of course!”

“It only has one copy. Is that okay?”

“Yes, Gideon”.

Melody was sweet. 

I hoped my uncle was sweet too.

I entered the library again, searching for the book I had seen. This time I actually grabbed it instead of just carefully touching it, and _God_ , it was heavy. I thought that that was the _perfect_ book for the summer, the absolute perfect one. Thick and seemingly interesting, just how I wanted it.

I went back to the room. “You sure I can take this one?”

“Of course!” Maybe Melody was right to let me have it. No one else would get a big book like that.

It looked so old.

“Anyway. We’re going to the show tomorrow. The Gleeful Twins’”.

“Oh, okay!”

She didn’t object. They couldn’t be dangerous…

I left the room and walked to the bedroom. Pacifica was still in the shower, so I decided I’d read a little. Looking around the cover of the book, I couldn’t find the name of the author.

Maybe it was a fancy cover. I searched for the name inside the pages and...

Nothing. There was absolutely nothing on the few first pages that could tell me who had written that massive book without a name. And that was when I realized, it wasn’t even a normal book. It was a journal.

I started reading through it, trying to find answers because I didn’t want to get questions all over again. It was so _interesting_. The story told of a person who had apparently disappeared, one who studied monsters, who lived _in_ Gravity Falls.

Was that real? And if it was… what had happened to that man? What happened?

And why did my _uncle_ have his journal?

Again, I was being tortured by questions. Pacifica was the one to pull me out of them. “HEY,” she screamed.

I touched my chest, terrified. I had _not_ heard her coming out of the shower or coming towards me.

“Don’t do that when I’m reading!” she didn’t seem to mind that I was complaining, she was laughing a lot. “Hi”.

“Hi,” her pretty smile was there. “Whatcha reading?”

I closed the book. “Nothing important. Don't worry”.

“Alright? Anyway, I’m super super excited for the Gleeful show!”

“Why?” I touched the hand that she had on my book, pulling it away. 

“Because… Dipper. Can't you tell?"

She smiled, and I shook my head. _No_.

“You… You mean…”

“Didn’t you hear what he said? Our paths are _crossed_ , Gideon! That’s just soooo romantic!”

What? What did she even mean? Was Dipper going to be one of those guys? Was she gonna fall for him like she did for every other boy she met?

Shit. Not him. Not the guy who was too handsome to be human. Not that one.

“You’re falling for him?”

She took no time. “No, Gideon. I’ve _fallen_ for him”.


	2. The Legend of the Gobblewonker

Dipper Gleeful

We had a meeting with Stanford every single Sunday morning. He’d always come in with the stats, write on some papers, and then throw information at us. And that was how the Gleeful Twins show was always planned.

He never hid it, he was a strict manager. And he also never hid that he clearly preferred Mabel over me. 

“The numbers are down, people are sick,” he would say, not even understanding what he was talking about. “They’re sick of seeing the same thing over and over again. We need to change. We need to do better”.

I rolled my eyes at him. The only reason he wasn’t loudly swearing was because Mabel was there. Okay, I had to give it to him and say that _sometimes_ he didn’t swear horribly, but business talk with me was never that peaceful. It was never that _okay_.

I turned to face Mabel, who was nodding at everything he was saying. I would’ve called her an idiot if I didn’t know that I’d act the same towards someone who treated me that well.

It was Stanford who was the idiot. Mabel was just doing the smart thing and accepting opportunities, listening to someone who treats her like she’s the only useful being in the world, like she’s all that matters. She wasn’t stupid for that.

But I didn’t have to listen to Stanford.

”Hey, Mabel, don’t you have corpses to take care of?” and Stanford stared at me for the first time on that morning. “I don’t know, no cremations to attend to?”

He looked angry.

”Mason-“

”Don’t listen to him, uncle. What can we do to be better?” The way she spoke made me want to vomit.

Stanford sighed before continuing, trying to reform his low voice. “That’s not the question you should be asking. The question should be: what can you do better _tonight_?”

Ugh, what even was that? A speech? A sermon? How the fuck was Stanford able to speak without wanting to rip his own tongue out? Holy shit.

”What if we sang today? That could be helpful!”

”Singing… Singing isn’t gonna fix anything. Because you know what the problem is, Stanford? It’s this fucking town. There’s no one else here, everyone has heard of us, of course they’re gonna get tired. It’s inevitable that they’ll get sick. You’re just so stupid, wanting to keep us here, in your puny little town, with no real opportunity to share our magic with the world. You know what the problem is? It’s you. You’re our problem, you’re the one who’s keeping us back, you’re the one keeping us from greatness. And all because you’re scared. You’re scared of letting me go, scared that I’ll be better and more powerful than you, and you know that if you let me go, you’re gonna lose everything. That’s what the problem is”.

But I sadly didn't say any of that.

"Singing is a great idea, sweetie”. He should’ve shut up before calling her “sweetie”. “How are you planning on going with that?”

“I don’t know, maybe we should sing our theme again?” Mabel shot a huge smile and turned to me. "Dipper?"

I looked at William, who was standing next to Stanford. "Sure".

Mabel clapped excitedly. Our theme was great. "Remember your notes, Will?" and he nodded. "Perfect!"

Okay, was that it? Could I leave now?

Will was looking around, moving his eye maybe a bit too much. “Then it’s settled”.

“Okay. Is that all, Uncle Stanford?”

“Yes, dear,” Ugh. “That’ll be all”.

Mabel quickly stood up, her useless smile still on her face. She walked one step closer to where Stanford was sitting and kissed him on the forehead. They then held hands and nodded at one another. I stared at Will hoping _really hard_ that he was staring back, and he looked at me, thinking: “I know".

At that moment I just wished I could tell him to fuck shit up and just kill Stanford for me. Could I do that? I probably couldn't. Could I?

I already knew Stanford was stupid, but holding my sister's hand right in front of me made him so much more stupid. It made me hate him so much more.

Sometimes he walked into my office. Sometimes he had the audacity to enter my office without knocking on the door, just like it was his. Just like he was allowed to. Just like I was his fucking family just ‘cause he was mother’s uncle. And it was unbelievable. The audacity Stanford had to _exist_ around me was overwhelmingly stupid. He was also so ugly… and so old. His face hadn’t looked as perfect as mine in a long time, and his blue eyes were falling down, skin getting softer and softer. I couldn't wait until he got old enough to be sent away, or until the day I would see him die right before my eyes.

I also couldn’t wait to be eighteen, completely undependable of such a futile person who was just there for… filling up space. Filling up the space of someone who took care of me, because the world didn’t realize how big I already was.

And all because we were stuck in that _stupid_ town of Gravity Falls.

Anyhow. “Mason,” Stanford called. “You should wear the black vest tonight”.

I shook my head. “Something wrong with the blue one?”

“Wear the black one,” no questions asked.

“You think he’s gonna like my voice?” Mabel interrupted, looking up to the ceiling. “Who?”

“Gideon”.

My mind lagged. Gideon. Gideon Pines? The boy from... What?

“Oh,” I whispered, not believing it at first. Mabel. A girl like _Mabel_ , being into someone so... fragile. So short and weak.

What?

“Yeah, that’s right!” she exclaimed. “Isn’t he enchanting? Gideon, oh, Gideon. Wherefore art thou, Gideon? I am the west and Gideon is the sun! What is my life, my breath, my heart, without my beloved young man? I suffered so much while you were away, my love. And now that you are close, I wish for you to realize that the universe has given us a chance to be happy together! Kiss me, Gideon!”

She danced around the room reciting those words. Stanford smiled at her, and Will maintained his neutral expression. _What?_

“Is Gideon the new kid? Mystery Shack?” Stanford asked. I turned my face to Will, who instantly looked at me too.

“Yeah, you heard about him?” Mabel giggled. “Oh, Uncle Stanford, he’s just so cuuute! He has beautiful blue eyes, white messy hair which is just so… charming! He’s perfect in every single way, and his voice is so addicting!”

She had just met him. She had _just_ met him.

“Mabel, you two just met,” but she didn’t seem to care. She brushed me off.

“Dipper doesn’t believe in love, Uncle Stanford,” I rolled my eyes as he nodded at her, smirking. “He doesn’t believe in me and Gideon”.

I didn’t say anything else. That wasn’t even worth discussing. How could Mabel... No, it had to be a joke. She had to be kidding us.

I tried to take my mind to the other matter: Will had told Stanford about the two kids. As I looked at him, he closed his eyes. I could see he was holding tears in.

 _Good_.

“I don’t know what happened, I felt the connection. Didn’t you, Will? I can sense something is going to happen, and he's so fearful, that's so adorable!" _Adorable_. "And he looks so smart, doesn't he? Tonight has to be our best show yet, make sure of that!”

I wanted to laugh. More than I wanted for that to be a joke, I wanted to laugh.

“You don't even know if he and the blonde have something. You don't even know his age. He could be twelve”.

“He’s not twelve!” she replied. “Will. How old is Gideon Pines?”

Will was surprised to be requested. His voice, breaking, “Sixteen, Madam”.

Mabel turned to me and shrugged. “See?”

Of course I knew he wasn’t twelve but he could be as stupid as he looked. Even his clothes were stupid, I couldn’t not notice them. That crumpled shirt and that _stupid_ pine on his _stupid_ hat.

It wasn’t a possibility, it was certainty. Gideon Pines _was_ an idiot, and his friend probably was one too. She, with her annoying clothes and her horribly-colored smile. Her hair, so good-looking, but ruined by all the stupid things she used to hold it back. That idiotic girl and the idiotic guy whom my sister liked.

What a waste of humans stupid people were.

"So, what is it? A boy and a girl? Are they coming to the show?"

"Yes! Gideon and... Pacific. I think". Why was she telling Stanford all that? Did he need to know about the new kids in town? "But what matters is him, really. He's just so..."

“I’m sure he’s going to love your voice, Mabel”.

I couldn’t do it anymore, hearing Stanford talk about her. I got up and left, calling Will to come behind me. I didn’t have to be there for their gross compliments, did I? Suffering through meetings was already bad enough. And finding out Mabel had even worse taste than I thought she did... Jesus.

I looked at the clock on my phone. Three in the afternoon. I needed to get ready.

But there was business to attend to first.

I walked straight to my office, letting Will come in behind. “Do you like it in here?” I asked. Will only nodded. “That’s great, Will. I’m glad you do”.

I closed the office door and started paying attention to what Will was doing. I could see his legs were almost wobbly. He was looking down, the side of his mouth twitching.

I wondered what he felt as he saw my fist going towards his face, ready to harm it. He rest his hand on the bruised spot I left, crying without making any noise, and I loved that. I loved his fear.

I knelt him on the floor and then pulled both his arms up, approaching his face. That was my favorite moment.

I didn’t even have to have a _reason_. I wasn’t even angry that time. I just wanted to clear my thoughts before the show and punish him for including Stanford in my stuff, and there he was, having to accept everything that I wanted to do, every pain that I wanted to inflict.

To me, it was heaven.

“What was it that you did wrong, William?” I asked, just wanting him to admit to something. He never knew what to answer. I hit his face again, harder this time.

“I apologize, Master,” he cried. I stared at my butler, my slave, my demon. Feeling his bone against my hand was always so satisfying.

“You know what you did, hm?” I asked, caressing his cheeks and looking inside his big blue eye. He nodded.

“I- I do,” he responded. “I apologize. He made me tell him. I was just doing my job”.

Stanford was a brainless incompetent man, who was always trying to get what was mine, always trying to be superior, always wishing to be in charge. But I couldn't let Will take it lightly.

All the rage I felt for Stanford at that moment went straight to my fists, as I landed them on Will’s face. Maybe he didn't deserve it. Or maybe he did, because he was there to serve me after all. I heard him cry. Poor demon.

“Your job, Will... is to obey me! Okay? The only reason for your existence is me! _I_ was the one who found you. _I_ was the one who captured you. And if it weren’t for _me_ , you’d still be stuck in that dimension, alone, screaming for help. Abandoned. So do not, EVER, listen to Stanford without talking to ME first. He did nothing but show me that book, okay? I did the rest myself!”

“Yes, Master”.

Good, I wanted to say again. Will stared at the blue floor, with his forehead touching mine, and kept nodding in agreement. I really had the best butler of all.

I lifted him off the floor, making him face me.

“Stanford is not higher than me. Alright? And never disagree with me ever again. When we brought you to serve us, I made it pretty clear that my orders weigh much more than his. No matter what he or Mabel might tell you, always remember that you're mine,” another nod. “You’re one hundred percent mine, I’m the one you have a deal with. Not my uncle. Not my sister. Me. Is that okay?”

He didn't even try to smile. All he did was say yes. "I'm glad we agree".

He was ready to leave my office. With a smile, I called him again:

“Hey, Will”.

He turned to me. His blood was dripping all over his skin.

“Can you mess with my black vest a little? Drop some blood on it maybe?”

He smirked. He always knew what I needed.

“Of course, Mason”.

I nodded. “You can call me Dipper sometimes. You know that, right?”

I felt his heartbeat getting louder, from far away. “Okay, Mason”.

And with a giggle, I let him go.

Being powerful was good. But I hated how that demon, William, was the only being in the house who actually respected me the right way. Mabel was too inconvenient, and Stanford was too unbearable, but Will was perfect. Every time the night fell, we’d be at our places, and he would be there, making sure everything is right, making sure the piano is right, and carrying his pitiful, sad eyes, ready to play for us.

My sad blue William. Maybe when Stanford died he’d be in better hands.


	3. Headhunters

Gideon Pines

I still couldn’t believe Pacifica was in love with the guy she’d just met, but I decided to just go with it. On the day of the show, she dressed up in a yellow coat, a purple shirt, and white shorts. I told her that that was maybe too bright for a presentation that was going to be _mainly_ blue, but it was Pacifica. And she couldn't be just one color.

I watched her play with makeup as I remembered how much she always loved to go out in the evening, looking pretty under the moonlight and dancing around everywhere.

She was way too excited this time, while I was hoping it was our last time on that Tent of Telepathy. Sure, magic was great, but Pacifica said she was falling for that guy, and that couldn’t be good.

And with eyes like he had, it made sense for her to fall in love so quickly.

It was exactly 7 P.M. when we arrived there. The place wasn't exactly bad, and I liked getting to sit on the front seats. I was curious about what would go on, about what kind of magic they did, and it was strange how everyone around us probably knew, and probably had seen it a thousand times.

I didn’t know what would happen on that stage, but I wasn’t prepared for what I'd see.

It all started with a lot of noise. A piano played beautifully in the background, people started shouting "Gleeful! Gleeful! Gleeful!", and there they were. When the curtains opened, the twins held hands and bowed to the audience, posing with their black and blue outfits.

Mabel was _stunning_. She shined in blue like Pacifica shined in yellow. Her wavy hair fell beautifully on her shoulders, reaching the middle of her stomach, bringing attention to the outfit she was wearing. Her pose was just so… eye-catching. I was so close to the stage that I could see her nails painted blue, one filled with glitter.

God. Mabel was perfect.

And so was Dipper.

He stood tall next to her, looking the same height due to her heels, or maybe even shorter. His hair was straight and also fell beautifully, but really short on his neck. He wore gloves and posed with his hand in an artistic position, like he was waiting for something to fall on top of it. His smile was startling, going perfectly with his furrowed eyebrows.

He really had an impressive face.

It was hard to choose who to look at. They were both so alike, yet so different. What Dipper’s bone structure had, Mabel’s legs had. What one’s hands had, the other’s lips had. It was almost impossible to admit that they were humans just like me. They just looked… better.

Too good-looking to be human.

Dipper stared at me, and I didn’t hate that. He looked down at my lap, where the journal was resting, and his eyes changed a little.

I didn’t know what changed. But it was _something_.

They both walked together, in perfect synchronization, and it was like they were one. It was like she was the long-haired smiley version of him, and it was like he was the short-haired cold version of her. The stage was covered in different shades of blue, mostly neon, and some subtle spotlights worked towards the interesting yet spooky sight of the show. I suddenly wasn't glad that we were able to get a seat in the front, so close to them. But I was probably just overthinking.

“Ladies and gentlemen," they both said at the same time. I could feel the chills down my neck. “It is such a gift to have you here tonight!

“I am Mason Gleeful”.

“And I am Mabel Gleeful!”

“And I... have a vision”.

“You do, brother?”

“Yes, sister,” he turned to her and she acted surprised. “I predict... music?”

Everyone clapped their hands as the piano changed tune, and this mysterious rhythm started filling up my ears.

A creepy song began playing, and they started singing along to it. _Music_ was something I wasn't expecting, but they had good voices. Even hours after the show those catchy lyrics were still playing in my head…

Maybe that was the reason people still came to their concerts.

_"Oh, we can see... what others can't see..._

_It's not a simple trick, it is pure ability._

_Where others are blind, we are futurely inclined,_

_and you too could see, if you were one of the Gleeful twins..."_

It was Dipper singing most of the first verse. Pacifica held my arm, whispering how perfect she thought he was. "Yes, Pacifica, I've noticed," I wanted to say. "But it's not right for you to like someone you don't know".

“Every one of you, stand!” Mabel said melodically, raising both her arms up. I couldn’t control my legs and got up together with everyone, dropping the journal on the floor.

”What the f-” I knelt to grab it back.

She then pointed to the side of the stage and a man started harmonizing as if he was in a choir, and maybe that was William. On Mabel’s face, with a long red smile, I could see how much she liked his voice.

With the vocals now, the song got a little less slow, and Dipper started pointing at the audience.

_"You wish your son would call you more"._

The audience member nodded, covering their mouth with complete shock. Dipper smiled.

_"You wish your wife wasn't a whore..."_

The man nodded and laughed, but I could sense it wasn’t genuine. Dipper winked at him, still in tune with the music.

What was going on?

_"I'll read your mind if I am able..."_

The man waited for his part. Dipper smiled wide.

_"He is cheating! Isn't he, Mabel?!"_

I opened my mouth, but no one else seemed to care about what Dipper was doing, they were way too focused on everything he was doing. But how did he know that? How did he know all that?

_"So welcome, you see, to the Tent of Telepathy..._

_Thanks for visiting... the Gleeful Twins..."_

The last note was long and ominous, and they finished together. As soon as the last piano key was played, they bowed once again, and the opening number was done.

They got everyone to clap — even I found myself clapping out of pressure — by stating unfortunate facts about others' lives. Facts they somehow knew. Facts they were able to fit into a song. A slow ballad that was surprisingly good and catchy.

They stayed in bowing position for about five seconds, and when they returned, the claps hadn't stopped. Dipper opened a wide smile once again and lifted his left hand up, looking at me again. That time, it was even worse. He knew where I was. And he was looking at me for a _reason_.

I sat back down together with everyone, and they continued speaking.

“Thank you, ladies and gentlemen. And others, of course. It is with great honor that we welcome you to our show. We are the Gleeful Twins”.

“I'm the fun twin,” Mabel interrupted, making everyone laugh. Dipper looked at her angrily, and she playfully smiled at him. “Don't be mad, boring twin!”

Dipper looked back at the audience, laughing along with them.

"We hope you're all ready for an evening full of... mystery," she moved her hand, and blue leaves started flying around it. "And magic".

It was _so much_. It made sense for their show to be so popular, they had amazing skills at their tricks. When they moved objects around, I couldn't tell where the strings were, or if there were any strings at all. It all was so... mysterious and magical, just like they said it would be, and I was surprised they were so flawless. People couldn't stop looking at them because it was all so... cool? There was a moment where Mabel held a bunch of small knives and sent them flying in the direction of the audience. Dipper, with wide eyes, moved his hands, and there: the knives went back to the stage, levitating like magic.

My eyes were glued to the both of them. And the blue wasn't overwhelming anymore. It was simply... beautiful.

“And did you guys know that I'm older than my brother by five minutes? Meaning! He! Is the one who inherited my powers, and not the other way around!”

Dipper sighed. People laughed again, and they seemed way too excited for people who had been exposed horribly not an hour earlier.

“Sister... Why can't we agree that we inherited our powers from each other?”

“Oh, wanting to be equals… That's what losers do, brother”.

“I don't think any of us here tonight are losers. Don't you all agree?” Everyone cheered. “And that is why... Sister, want to do the honors?”

“Surely, Dipper," she held her own hand and walked to the front of the stage, looking around. “Audience participation for all winners?”

Everyone screamed in glee, wanting to go on stage to take part. I prayed that she wouldn't choose me, I was _terrified_ of audience participation. She got down and held the hands of a man who looked about thirty years old. He had black hair and eyes, and wore a purple suit just like he had just walked out of a fancy party. He smiled at being chosen, and followed Mabel to the stage, joined by the sound of clapping around them.

“What’s your name, please, sir?” Dipper asked, turning the man to face the audience. He looked unreal next to the man. It was like comparing a normal person to someone who wasn't... Who wasn't normal in the slightest.

Too perfect. Everything about that show was too perfect.

“Tad. Tad Average, Mason”.

Dipper smiled again. Actually, that was when I noticed, Dipper had kept his smile for most of their number.

“That name is a bit strange, is it not?” Mabel joked. “I love it!”

“So, Tad... ready for something... killer?”

“I am!” he replied. Dipper and Mabel looked at each other and posed with the man, who was excited to be there where he was.

They started explaining what they would do, and suddenly William walked onto the stage with a big human-sized box. The twins said that they would do a simple sword trick, where Tad would enter the box, and then have swords pushed near him. It looked simple, it didn't look complicated at all. I theorized that Tad would guide the blades while inside the box, or something easy like that. But the box... It was so small... When Tad entered he could barely move there. It was such a tight box.

“How do you think they're gonna do this?" I asked Pacifica. "He can't even move his arms in there, how’s he gonna guide the swords?”

She shrugged. I looked back to the stage, waiting for whatever would come next.

“Pretty comfortable in there, is it not?” Dipper exclaimed. It didn't look comfortable at _all_. He closed the box with Tad inside and Mabel spoke:

“Tad, are you in there?”

"Yes!" he shouted. It was a bit difficult to listen to his voice. The piano in the background had stopped but there was some sort of tapping noise that was messing with my ears.

Dipper then held up four swords. He "levitated" two towards Mabel, with his "telekinetic" powers. She held the swords and smiled at the audience, making a pose and pouting her bright red lips. 

“Want to do the honors, precious sister? Since you... were born first?” The audience laughed.

“Why don't we share the honors, adored brother?” and he nodded. “Just this once, of course!”

"If you say so!"

Some people got up to get a better view of the magic trick. Some lifted their children up. Others patiently waited. Pacifica was standing, she had her hands resting on her chest, probably curious about what was gonna happen.

“On three! One…”

They each went to opposite sides of the closet door. Her on the left, him on the right.

“Two…”

They positioned their weapons. From my visual calculations of Tad's height, Mabel pointed at his throat. And Dipper, his head. They arranged the way they were standing, like they were actually skilled with swords like those. Some people around me clapped, and others just watched in silence.

“Three!”

They fired the two swords into the closet. It was so fast. There is no way I would’ve been able to guide swords with that level of speed, so Tad probably couldn't do it either. Everyone gasped. Some people did clap, but most just stood in shock.

Mabel got her last sword and stuck it where Tad's stomach would be. Dipper did the same, but a little higher. Everyone was awaiting the results, and when they posed next to the sworded closet, people clapped. They clapped and clapped and they always clapped. The twins proceeded to take the swords out, placing them on the floor.

“Hey, Tad, how's it going?” Mabel yelled at the closet door.

There was no immediate response. It was only a few moments later that we all heard:

“Have you done the trick yet?”

Everyone sighed in relief. The twins bowed at the sound of Tad Average's voice, and the applause was present again. The really loud, and sudden applause.

“Now… Cover your eyes, children!”

Dipper opened the door and I had never seen anything so absolutely horrifying. Tad was there, with his eyes open, standing, except he didn't look like he did before. His purple suit was now completely red. The swords had gone into him, we could see his bones, and we could see everything you're not meant to see in an average – living – human. His eyes looked lifeless, yet he moved his hand. He waved at the audience, who was covered in either laughter, applause, or closed eyes.

“Thank you all for coming to the Tent of Telepathy! And thank you, Tad, you've been incredible!”

I was in complete shock. That could not be makeup. He couldn't logically not be... no. Impossible. Not in front of everyone. How did he move? How do they do that?

How did... the voice... I was unreachable at that moment. My heart was going faster than ever. What?

“And the special audience lovely today is Gideon Pines, of course!” I heard Mabel say, and that made me start to pay attention again. “Everyone give a round of applause for Gideon, the cutest guy in this town!”

“Besides me!” Dipper completed.

“He's completely right," Pacifica sighed, with a smile on her face. I had forgotten that she was next to me. I looked at her, my eyes still wide. “Isn't Dipper charming? Gideon, are you okay? Wasn't the show amazing?”

I stared at her. And then stared at everyone who was leaving. And then at Tad. The bloody Tad. The surely not okay Tad. He went out too, together with everyone, and I didn't see him when I ran out of the tent and looked for him for ten minutes, finding absolutely nothing.

I wanted to run home. I wanted to cry. I wanted to find Tad but I couldn’t. I wanted to go back and not leave Pacifica behind again, with those two possible _monsters_. 

My brain was too confused even to produce tears.

“Leaving so early?” I heard a voice speak. I looked to my left side and there he was. Dipper Gleeful.

I couldn't speak. I turned to him but I didn't know what to say, or if I even could say anything.

“Give me that book, Pines”.

“W- What did you do to that man? That wasn't... possible”.

“I killed him, what do you think?” he said naturally, not trying to hide how messed up that was. My eyes got wide with fear. “I usually don't tell people that, have to keep up my ‘good guy’ image”.

We were far from everything. It was so dark. No one was around. I could see the lights from the Tent of Telepathy but they were far, far away.

“What are you gonna do to me?”

“Well, my sister likes you, so I won't give you a painful death,” he replied. “In fact, I'll let you choose. What kind of death would you like, Pines?”

“De- Death?”

I had never been more terrified. My heart wanted to come out of my chest, and I had no control over my mouth anymore.

“Hey, stop. If this is part of the show, it isn't funny! I don't like it. Please stop!

Dipper laughed at me.

“Life’s a show, little boy,” he said, grabbing something from his pocket. I hoped my eyes were wrong. I hoped that wasn't a knife. “Hand me the book. Right now”.

“N- No. It's my uncle's. It's not yours…”

“Pines…” he lowered his voice, getting closer and closer to me. Get away. Get away. Get away. “I know you don't know who you're messing with, so I'll allow you to act stupid for a while…”

I walked back, unsure of what was happening. "Run," my mind told me. "Run, you can run". But no, I couldn't. He was taller than me, probably much faster. There was no escape. I was completely vulnerable to him.

“I'm Mason Gleeful. Or Dipper, as many call me. I am the most powerful man in the world. No one can compete against me, no one can ever try to defeat me, no one... can disobey me. Understand? This is not a joke. I don't joke, I don't mess around. I get what I want and when I want. And I give people the punishment they need, the punishment I feel like they need. I'm the one who chooses, okay? And I don't choose for people to stay alive when I don't want to. It's going to be painless if you give me that book..."

I could not believe it. I handed him the book, scared for my life.

“I'll keep you alive for now. It's funny seeing you like this," he continued. "Oh, and if you tell anyone about this, I'm going to bury you”.

He left. When he turned, his cape flew and almost hit me. Tears finally started streaming down my face.


	4. The Hand That Rocks Pacifica

Dipper Gleeful

When I returned to the tent I went straight to the comforting stage, thinking of mother and how happy she'd be that I had finally found it.

I walked up the small set of stairs, dancing with the journal and holding a smile on my face, playing back the memory of how pathetic Pines looked as he handed me the book.

"You're finally here".

I stared for a long time at that cover, trying to figure out why it said "3" and not "1", but it was alright. I could do with that. I could do with the fact that there were more than two books, I could...

I could try being fine with it. My head couldn't stop asking itself: what if this isn't the last one? What if there are four? Or worse, what if there are infinite journals?

Accepting that it was better than nothing, I went back to the mansion and went to my office. I spent the whole night there, savoring every word of that incredible creation. All I needed now was journal number one, and then it would all make sense.

At about four in the morning, I called for Will. He didn't take long to arrive (he never did), so that was also a relief. "Master?" he began. The look on his face when he saw me reading was slightly like a bridge between relief and confusion. "Is that-"

"Yes," I replied. "It's journal three".

"Three?"

"Yeah, bad news," he nodded. "He talks about you on this one too".

"Does he?" he came closer, looking at the pages himself. "What does it say?"

William leaned so he'd have a better view of my desk, seeing what the book said about him. "I must now reveal the name of my ‘Muse’. Beware Will. The most powerful and dangerous creature I've ever encountered. This nightmare in disguise will seduce you with never-ending flattery until he gets what he wants — and what he wants is the destruction of this reality. Whatever you do, never let him into your mind. There is no telling what damage Will might do. How many of my thoughts have been manipulated? Dreams corrupted. My right eye is so sore it bleeds on the page – the cost of letting him possess me. Has he possessed others? According to my research, his deceit can be detected. It is possible to follow the demon into a person's mind and prevent his chaos".

"WILL CAN'T BE TRUSTED! DO NOT SUMMON AT ALL COSTS!"

He moved away when he finished reading, holding his own hand.

"What else can you tell me about the author?" I asked.

"Well, he was smart. Not smarter than a demon but... smart". And that didn't say a lot. "Again, I don't remember how I killed him".

"He's right about never-ending flattery..." he looked at me, bruises less dramatic than on the day before. "So, tell me something else".

He started thinking about what to say.

"Many things happened, Master, before I got stuck in that dimension". I paid close attention to him, always interested in whatever William had to say. "I am older than the universe itself, so nothing is really recent. Things I've done on this Earth, things I've done on other Earths... It is all too much to say".

"Can you talk about your brother?"

"No. He isn't important," he looked up, expression changing. "I destroyed that man's life someday, but I don't remember why. Dream Demons can't ever be trusted, we all share the same objective".

"And that is?"

"Destroying reality, and making everything ours".

That was a good objective.

I had always known that Will was strong, and that he was able to kill anyone he wanted to. I just always wondered what he used to be like before being stuck in the dimension his brother trapped him in. And he was always too scared to talk about him. He never said anything.

I wanted to know more. I wanted him to say more. I wanted to hear Will…

"Like a human, he trusted me. And it didn't go well for him".

"So I guess you didn't have a deal with him?"

"I did. It was just a deal I knew how to break".

“So when your brother shielded every existing enchantment that could bring you back... the only one he couldn't find was written in a human book, by some dumb human from this dimension?”

“He wasn't exactly dumb, but yes”.

"I don't know why, but I just could never accept that the author was human, someone just like me".

Will nodded.

"For the last time, do you remember his name?"

"I have absolutely no idea what his name was, Master".

And then the thought finally came to my head: where did Pines find that book? And did I have to kill him in order to get the other one?

I woke up really early on the next day, with Mabel poking me. I cannot yell at her, I reminded myself. But I wanted to scream for having her screw up my schedule.

Rubbing my eyes, I asked: "What do you want?"

"We have work to do, we're performing in the park".

What? Ugh, on a Monday? That had to be Stanford's idea.

"Why? People already know about our show”.

“It's our job, Dipper. Come on. We're rehearsing today too, get ready”.

“Mabel, what the hell?” I said, still half asleep. I just wanted her to leave my room. “Can't we do that another time? Does it have to be today?”

“YES, Dipper, come on! Stanford will punish you if you don't go”.

 _Punish_ me, I was already used to his punishment, it couldn't hurt me anymore. His punishments might have scared me when I was eleven, but they didn't when I was seventeen. But Stanford was too stupid to realize that.

“Tell him I'll kill him if he tries,” and Mabel sighed, annoyed.

“When will you two stop being so immature?”

I looked her in the eyes, dead serious.

“When he dies”.

Mabel made an angry face at me. She got up from where she was sitting and left my bedroom, telling me to get ready quickly. 

When we went out, almost no one was outside, but we were noticed by everyone who was. Gravity Falls was too small for people not to know us, and everyone cherished us just like they should have.

Waving to everyone, I decided I could leave Mabel to do all that work. That was what she wanted anyway, so why not allow it?

I sat on a bench close to where she stood, performing magic with her beautiful hands and attracting everyone's eyes. I just wanted to be close to the journal again, to feel it heavy on my hand, to read those pages... I wondered if the author would like me, if he would like to tell me about his experiences, about his closeness to magic and the magical creatures. I wondered if he would write about me in his book.

What generation of his family would be there at that moment, watching Mabel be powerful and beautiful? How close was I to him really?

“Dipper!” a voice called.

I turned to the source of the voice. It was Pacifica Southeast, the blonde-haired, really annoying girl who had come to the show.

“Hi! It's me, Pacifica, but you probably knew that!”

“Yeah, I did know that”. She smiled and sat next to me, on the bench I was sitting on. She was too close, so I hoped she wouldn't touch me.

Looking at her, I tried to find Gideon's eyes. I tried to remember what he looked like on the night before, terrified and helpless. But they didn't look alike, so they definitely weren't siblings. I liked the way Pacifica's lips moved, and the way they were perfectly drawn on her face. She was something, she definitely was.

“I just wanted to apologize to you for leaving in such a hurry last night. Gideon ran home and I had to catch him, you know how it is!”

“Oh... sure, I know how it is”.

She laughed. What an annoying laugh that was...

“Okay, maybe you don't know how it is, because the person you have with you is Mabel, not someone like Gideon. I mean, I'm not saying Mabel is the only person you have! I mean! Is she? Not that I want to know, I just thought it'd be relevant for the topic that I... just created... I'm... sorry, I'm confused?”

I couldn't help but let out a small laugh myself. She was pathetically foolish.

“Okay, erm," she breathed deeply before continuing. “I just wanted to congratulate you on the show, since I couldn't do that last night. I actually liked it a lot. It was my first one and it was very impressive, you never fail to woo the crowd!”

“Thank you, Southeast. I am glad you enjoyed last night's show”.

“Sure! You're really great, Dipper! And you talk fancy!”

I remained silent, waiting to see if she would continue, and if she was going to mention anything about Pines.

But she didn’t seem to know. She looked too glad, and smiled too hard, at someone who had threatened to kill her friend.

“I'm glad I already made friends in this town, Gravity Falls is a very great place!” she stretched her arm in my direction, waiting for... a handshake?

“Excuse me, I don’t like to touch some people”.

“ _Some_ people?” she laughed.

I looked at her. Why wasn't she offended? Why did she only laugh like it was a joke? Why was she so happy and why did I seem to hate her so much?

“Wait, was that serious?”

“I am Mason Gleeful, Pacifica," I replied. “There's no one more serious than me in this town”.

She laughed again. Her laugh was even worse than Mabel's. I just wanted to slit her throat open, for a million reasons.

She was worse, definitely, than Gideon Pines. Her smile was more annoying and she was louder. At least Pines was quiet and seemingly smart, though simultaneously the most stupid person I had met. It was worse trying to stare at her, I was sure.

“I think you'd have to fight with Gideon for that one," she said. _Gideon_. I wondered if I had given him nightmares. And I hoped so. I hoped he couldn't forget the fear. I hoped that that would damage his feeble life forever. I decided to ask her, just to make her shut up about meaningless subjects.

“Do you know why Pines ran away last night?”

“Oh! He was scared of what you did to that Tad guy. That body art was incredible, did you hire him?”

“No, he was a viewer. We have our ways. So how is Gideon now?”

Pretending to be interested in something was tiring. At least I knew I meant it as "is Gideon completely panicked and terrified?" or "is Gideon now full of fear of leaving the house because he knows he could find me in the streets?"

“He's still very altered, I think. I don't think he's very brave!”

“Of course he isn't! What would make you think he is?”

She smiled. And then she saw that Mabel was there too, doing her thing with her people.

“Oh, are you busy? I could go if you want! Or I could stay? And watch you do your magic? Tell me, is it real? Gideon says magic isn't real, but I know it is! Is yours real or is it just tricks? 'Cause, I mean, tricks are pretty nice too, 'cause you have to work on them, it's not just being born with it, you know? So is yours real? It seems real! Can you make a chicken appear or something?”

I got up. I couldn't be close to someone like her.

“Here you go, Pacifica”.

I moved my hands and made six birds fly out of it, and then left. Some people stared at me but quickly turned back to Mabel as soon as I smiled at them.

“You're the best, Mister Magic! Bye!”

What a waste of a beautiful face that girl was. She definitely was going to be my next kill. I watched her leave.


	5. The Inconveniencing

Gideon Pines

The sight of the bloodied man wouldn't leave my head, and Dipper's words made everything much worse. I took ages to sleep, and on the next day, I could still see the man's sliced throat every time I closed my eyes.

And I couldn't help but remember that I could've gotten my throat sliced just like he had. If I hadn't handed away the book, I would be dead.

Pacifica seemed happy, still. She didn't know anything.

“Don't make that face, it's ugly”.

A voice dragged me out of my thoughts. I was so focused on Sunday that it still felt like I was in the Tent of Telepathy, sitting on the front seats, watching those two being perfect...

"Sorry, I'm distracted," I replied. The voice was Wendy's. Wendy was the girl who worked in the Mystery Shack. She had long ginger hair and her eyes were green like olives. Her ears were covered in piercings and she was always wearing black.

“Yeah, no shit," she said sarcastically, continuing to paint her nails. “Don't apologize either, it's boring”.

I chuckled. Wendy was 19, and she was very... rebellious. She had almost got in legal trouble three times in the previous year, and had got her boyfriend, Robbie, in trouble many times too. I knew all that because sometimes Pacifica and I would sit down with her, and hear her talk and talk.

“Hey. Wendy, what do you think of the Gleeful Twins?”

“Mabel's a bitch, Dipper's an old friend," she looked me in the eye. “Can you believe that that brat stole my boyfriend and that he disappeared weeks after, saying he had left the country because ‘his love for Mabel was too much for him to handle’? I guess you can't really trust anyone here”.

“Hey, that sucks. And Dipper is your friend?”

“I mean, old friend. We haven't hung out in a while, I guess”. Wendy was very scary. You just never knew what she might come up with, and that was one of those moments, I had no idea about this connection with him. “He got too famous, too busy, he's not really the gang type anymore”.

“What's the gang type like?” I asked, slightly afraid of the answer.

“Not rich, not snobbish, not famous," she looked up, thinking. “Kinda misunderstood, I think? Funny, fun... Eh, like you, I guess”.

“Like me?”

“Yeah, except the funny and fun part”. Oh. “Dipper used to be all that, believe it or not. I mean, he was always rich, I think, but not boring rich”.

And scary rich. And killer rich. And spine-chilling rich. And horrifying rich. And gruesome rich. And more. There were a lot of adjectives I could use to describe him.

“Hey, wanna get your mind off stuff?” she asked me. I nodded, because I really wanted to. “My friends and I are checking out this abandoned store in town tonight, we could bring you along”.

I was confused about what to say. The experience could be awful, or scary, but I knew Wendy was at least a little bit trustworthy. I could have fun there? But it was unlikely. Going out with older people to invade places didn't seem to fit me very much.

“Who's going?” I asked because I really didn't want to respond.

“Robbie, Tambry, Nate, Lee, and me. And you and your blonde friend, if you say yes”.

Pacifica, where was she? Maybe she was out again. “But... isn't it dangerous?”

“Are you scared?” she smiled at me throwing part of her hair to the side.

“I don't know, maybe?” I replied. “What if they find us and my aunt gets the fault? Anything could happen!”

She laughed. 

“Come on, Pines, you don't trust us? We've done worse and we're okay”.

I imagined what a day with her, Mabel, and Dipper in the same room would feel like. I didn't know why my mind was wondering that.

“Okay, look at the clock, work's done”. She got up even though her nails weren't finished. She flashed another unexpected smile at me, probably ironically, and went to the door. “I'll pick you up at 7. If you don't wanna come, then don't. You have an hour to decide”.

And she left. Just like that.

I went up to the bedroom and sat down, thinking. I tried hypnosis. I tried drawing the scene. I tried describing it to myself in the mirror. I tried screaming and I tried reading and I tried asking Melody, but she wasn't home. I tried everything I could but couldn't take the scene out of my head before Pacifica came home. She went straight to the bedroom, soft steps up the stairs.

I adjusted my hair under my cap, because I might have ripped some out due to being _desperate_. By the time she opened the door, I was on the floor reading on my phone.

"Hey!"

"Hey! Do you wanna go out with Wendy tonight?"

She thought about it for a second, and then smiled wide. "Yeah!"

"Oh," that was quick. "Are you happy?"

"Yes! I went to the park today, and guess who was there!"

"You spent the whole day at the park?"

"No, stupid," she shook her head. "I went to the park earlier today, but I went everywhere else in town too, hehe!"

How could she? How could she love going out and socializing so much? I didn't understand. Whatever it was that Pacifica had, I didn't.

"Who was there? At the park?"

"Guess!"

"Was it..." the answer became obvious. "Dipper?"

Pacifica bit her lip with a smile, and nodded happily.

Oh no. No, no, no...

"And he _talked_ to me, Gideon! Can you believe he talked to me? He is just so humble, such a nice guy..."

Such a nice _killer_ , I couldn't take the previous night out of my head. I shouldn't have let Pacifica go out alone. "Pacifica. W-Why him? He's like... He's famous. He's not the best choice, and you know that!"

"It's not a choice, Gideon," she replied. "Even if he's a bit odd, we all are! Can't I like the nicest guy in town?"

I thought about how I would tell her that Dipper wasn't, in no way, the "nicest guy in town". With what she knew, it made no sense for her to like him. But maybe they had had a really nice chat in the park, which I highly doubted.

She opened a big smile. Dipper wasn't the first guy who had caught Pacifica's eyes but he surely was the worst. I wish I could scream "Pacifica! He's a killer!"

I just couldn't believe she couldn't see it. I couldn't believe that only I knew. It was right there! In front of everyone's faces! Dipper was an insensitive and irrational man that she could not risk being close to, and he had killed a man in front of her! He could do anything, and had surely done a lot.

I wanted to do my best to protect Pacifica, because she just meant so much to me. It wasn't because she was my friend, or because she was my only friend. It was because she was the best person in my life. Summers wouldn't make sense without Pacifica by my side. And with this boy that she now liked, my fear wasn't her getting heartbroken.

My fear was her being killed.

We didn't talk about it anymore. She accepted to go out with Wendy and her friends and dressed, once again, brighter than the occasion called. I didn't have high expectations but still hoped the evening would be fun. 

When Wendy arrived, I was sweating more than I should have been. "My friends aren't gonna kill you, Gideon. Calm down".

But I _didn't_. Throughout the whole ride to the store, I sat nervously and just wanted to get that over with. Tambry made fun of my height, but said it was "friendly fun". We opened the door to the store, and they all had fun while I watched. There was a moment we all sat down together, in a large circle. I hated every second of being there.

“Guys, please don't do this again," Wendy's boyfriend said. He was sweating more than me, surprisingly. His green button-up shirt and tie reminded me of the man on the Gleeful stage, but I would really rather ignore that. “You know how Susan is, she's gonna kill me once she finds out”.

Nate laughed. Or maybe it was Lee? I couldn't really tell them apart. All I saw when I looked at them was the severed man.

Wendy pulled Robbie in for a hug, smiling.

“Poor Robbie is missing his jobbie," she started caressing his hair and I was wondering why they were making fun of him. For being fair and working properly? I didn't get it. “Relax, babe, I brought something for you”.

I thought she meant a present, but what she had was a cigarette. She took it out of her pockets with a giggle.

“Thanks, Wendy, you rule," Lee/Nate laughed and stole the thing from her hand. Tambry (who had beautiful purple hair) laughed at them.

“That was for Robbie. But I brought some more”. She turned to Robbie, who was trying to calm down and smile at her. “Here you go”.

He thanked her, and lit up his cigarette to start smoking it. Wow. I knew they were of age but I couldn't believe I was there, in a group of people who were smoking. I turned to Pacifica to see what she was thinking but her head was somewhere else. She was looking at the ceiling, smirking in a beautiful way and... probably singing inside her head. I just hoped the smell wouldn't bother her.

“I don't think we need to offer it to blondie, she looks relaxed already”. They all looked at Pacifica, who smiled. “Hey, Pacifica, what do you smoke?”

“Happiness, I think," she replied, laughing. I knew what was coming.

“Want one, Gideon?”

“No, thank you”.

“Heard you've been having problems, Pines," Wendy began, and everyone paid attention to what she was saying about me. I almost felt my face burn. “Like, not being able to concentrate, because of thinking of something else”.

“Or someone else?” Tambry giggled.

“In any case, it does help”. Wendy sounded very serious about that. I wondered why she was offering to help, did she really care about me? “Just ask Robbie”.

The nervous working-boy looked at me, his button-up shirt and his cigarette in hand.

“It does, promise," and Wendy smiled at him, getting a smile back. “You don't need to try if you don't want to, but it's one way to stop thinking about... unwanted stuff”.

I guess I was thinking about unwanted stuff. A lot. And with Robbie saying that and wearing his button-up shirt and tie at the same time, it made me want to try it, somehow. Just so I could forget.

“No, I don't want to," I firmly stated. “But thank you”.

They accepted my answer, thankfully, and continued to talk among them. God, that was hard. Socializing, living with other people. Pacifica stared at me and looking at her was the only comforting thing I knew how to do on that evening. "How are you?" she mouthed towards me. "Fine," I replied. "You wanna go home?"

I answered no, because Wendy's friends were sorta funny. When they left me home, they acted nicely, saying:

“Take care, Pines. Punch what you're thinking of. Don't let it bother you too much, life's short”.

“But he's shorter," said Tambry. I giggled for her.

“I will, guys. Goodbye”.

“Bye, but hey!" Wendy said, surprising me. "Before you go... are the Gleefuls causing you trouble?”

I stared at her, not sure how to reply.

“Gleeful? Dipper? Ohhh, he's so handsome, isn't he, Wendy? I just want to kiss that face non-stop!”

Wendy laughed. "Yo, Pacifica? You like Dipper?" Pacifica nodded. I was still thinking of what I would say, because I couldn't say anything, but I also didn't want to not say something.

Did Wendy know about what he did? Was there more to the end of their friendship than him becoming famous?

How much more would I find out? What else was there?

“No, Wendy. It's okay”.

“Oh. Good," she replied. “You mentioned him this afternoon, so I thought... Well, better this way. I think I'll call him tomorrow. See how he is”.

“That's a good idea”. It wasn't.

"Bye, kid".

I decided to take Wendy's advice, and imagined myself punching Dipper in the face. Of course that was never going to happen, but it still felt good to see myself like that, not powerless, actually capable of fighting back.

Wendy was nice.

Pacifica slept as soon as we arrived, it was about midnight. I lay down trying to not think of that, and that time, it was a little easier for me to sleep, trying to ban all the thoughts about him.

There were two questions that wouldn't leave my head. What was that journal and why did Dipper want it so much?


	6. Dipper vs. Manliness

Dipper Gleeful

I woke up feeling powerful once again. I paid no attention to which day of the week we were in, but I knew we were a month and a half away from something grand. Mother's death day was never a pleasant time for me. Mabel never showed much care for it, for some odd reason. It was like she believed Stanford could... replace her? It was like he had stolen her from us, like he was forcing her to submit to his meaningless acts, as a way for him to think more highly of himself.

I couldn't keep him off my head for too long. Laughable man, always trying to mess with me.

That day was doomed to be good, and I could sense that. Future vision didn't show me many sights, but more like feelings and... vibrations sometimes. It was more abstract on that day, as Summer was always a little heavy on my powers.

I got a call first thing in the afternoon. After a whole morning of reading, I heard my phone ring, and when I read the name "Wendy" on the screen, I became surprised.

"Hello?"

"Yo, Dipper," her voice sounded the same as last time, but weird as well. It was the first time listening to her speak in a long, long time.

Shit, how could I have forgotten Wendy Valentino existed?

"Hey, Wendy...?"

Didn't she work... at the Mystery Shack? Right where Gideon lived? I wondered if that had anything to do with him, but mind reading wouldn't give me anything through the phone, so I couldn't be sure.

"What's the reason for this call?"

"Woooow, remember when you weren't this pompous?” and she laughed. "Just kidding, man, how's it going?"

I shook my head, wanting to laugh at the way she spoke. "You were never one for casual conversation, Valentino. What's changed?"

"Man, seriously. Do you talk like that all the time now? Doesn't it get boring? You're all weird now, Dipper".

And she laughed. What did she expect me to do? Did she want me to act "casually", like I did three years before, before I even had William? How could I even return to that, to that Dipper that wasn't me? I had grown up and it was weird that she hadn't noticed that.

What did she want me to do? Change?

"Did Pines make you call me?"

"Pines? What, why?" Why would she even help the brat anyway? "Thought we were friends, Gleeful Twin. Wake uuup, I called to talk with you a bit, catch up…”

“Catch up after what, three years? Things have changed a lot, Wendy”.

“Yeah... you have. I mean, I'm still up for friendship if you are”.

I stood in silence. I had called her my friend before, so it wouldn't hurt to do it once more.

“Sure, we can start talking again. Whenever I'm not busy”.

“Hard for you not to be," she laughed. Wendy hadn't changed. She still sounded rebellious and emotional, always ready to fight authority whenever she felt like it. We had been great partners, when we still went out together. Wendy was strong, never letting herself be vulnerable to anyone. It was good to have her around.

“This sudden connection does not have... amorous reasonings, does it?”

She chuckled.

“What the hell, Dipper, of course not”. I nodded, relieved. “I have a boyfriend, and you're not even my type”.

“So your type is not a handsome man who's destined for greatness and world dominance?” I smiled.

“Nah, my type is... cute and smart. Good guy, you know? Someone who cares for me? Yeah, Robbie matches all that”.

I could hear the smile on her voice. Wendy never was one to smile, only laugh sometimes. And I wasn't one for caring. Maybe I really wasn't her type.

“And why? Is your type not a dark and fun girl like me? What if I did have ‘romantic reasons’, or whatever you said?”

“Then I'd be torn between poisoning your drink or drowning you in a lake. What would you prefer?”

“Poison, anytime," I kept that in mind. “I see you're still obsessed with talking about death... I like that part of you. It's cool”.

I was "cool" to her. To most people I had threatened, I was "vile". I wonder which adjective Pines would use to describe me.

“I know someone who thinks you're her type though...”

Right, another admirer. I was ready for her name. "Another one? You haven't set me up with anyone for a long time, Miss Romance…”

I remembered the girls Wendy had found for me, when that story always repeated itself. One would fall for me, and then I'd waste some time, and eventually Mabel would have a new corpse to take care of, a new body to practice her tricks on. It was almost funny, really, that Wendy never heard of the girls ever again, and that she didn't even suspect a thing. Because no one would suspect the good guy in town, huh?

It is easier to attract what's attracted to you.

“You absolutely suck at romance, Dipper. All of them moved out without even saying goodbye. You must be a terrible boyfriend!"

“What can I say, I was never their type either”.

“Sure. Well, Gideon's blonde friend, Pacifica. You know her?"

"Yeah".

"Head over heels for you".

"Really?"

"I mean, she sometimes just says things, but probably? She's cute though. She's happy, she's sweet. Opposites attract?"

"I don't know what you're insinuating..."

"Oh, come on, Gleeful!" she exclaimed. "Should really give her a chance. The girl's a sweetheart".

"Wendy Valentino really is soft for love, huh? How didn't I know..."

"You did know, you douche," and she finished with a giggle. "Anyway, you wanna come here? Hang out for a bit?"

"Where are you?"

"Mystery Shack. Working. Just got here and I'm _boooored_ ". I laughed. "Come on, I miss hanging out".

As much as I didn't want to admit it, I missed hanging out too. I sometimes missed the time when I didn't have so much work to do.

The future vision wouldn't show me much, but yes, I decided to go to the Mystery Shack, just out of sheer curiosity. It would be great to see Gideon Pines, you know? To know how much I had hurt him with what I did, and maybe see if I could mess with Pacifica a little

I knocked on the wooden door to that really strange place, and an adult woman opened it for me. She had full lips, tan skin, and light brown hair, and I assumed she was Melody Ramirez, one of the owners. I could see behind her that most of the shop was made of wood. She recognized me and smiled wide.

"It's the Gleeful Twin!" she pointed at me, stating. "Can I call you Dipper?"

"Dipper would be okay, Madam". I could see the enormous bookshelf behind her, as if that was the main attraction in the whole place. I wanted to take a look. “Is Wendy Valentino here?”

"Right there," she pointed to her right. Wendy was sitting behind a table.

"Can I come in?"

"Of course you can, dear! Hahahaha!"

I rubbed my shoes on the floor and entered the shack, smirking in Wendy's direction. "Now, just don't distract her from work too much, okay? And I'm gonna call the kids! They're gonna love that a celebrity is at the home!"

Wendy covered her mouth so she wouldn't laugh, and I smiled at her, and then back at Melody. "Okay, Madam. I won't distract her".

"Treat him well!" she left.

That place was so weird. The paintings on the wall and artifacts on the table were intriguing but awfully tiring to look at... Even the carpet was annoyingly old, and I could see almost no blue. It was tragic.

Wendy didn't fit the place at all. Her outfit was mostly black and she looked way too "cool" to work as a cashier at that bookstore. God, I even considered giving her money just so she wouldn't have to be there anymore. What a fucking existence.

"Treat me well," I began, walking towards her table. She raised her hand up, waiting for a high-five.

"True, forgot you're exclusive now". I rolled my eyes. She held my wrist and forced our hands into a high five, just like I knew she would do. “Or did you just spend so long without cool friends like me that you forgot how friendship works?”

I laughed through my nose. "Maybe both".

"So, you wanna go t-"

A voice interrupted her. "Dipper?" It was Pacifica. She and Gideon entered the room, and I could sense the energy of each of their reactions when they noticed that it was me.

They both looked so extremely funny. Pacifica held a smile and Gideon's face was just... too hilarious. I wanted to take a picture of it so I could look at it whenever I felt like laughing.

And Pacifica's heart was beating fast again. This time I knew why.

"'Sup, guys," said Wendy. I smirked at Pacifica, waiting for her to say anything else. But she was stuck there, staring. 

I shifted my eyes to Gideon and read his mind. A lot was going on in there, and I had accomplished a goal: I had scared him away. The look in his eyes showed that he did not want to be near me. The way his mouth trembled showed that he was remembering everything I had said. The way his hands were holding on to his stupid cap showed that he wanted to fight me, but knew he couldn't. He knew he was weak, he knew he was too weak for me. And he knew that I could destroy him.

It was so fun, I was entertained. The Gideon Show in the Mystery Shack was interesting me more than The Gleeful Twins in the Tent of Telepathy. I wanted to give the whole thing a 5-star rating.

I turned to Wendy, who smiled. I just wanted to laugh, but also smiled so it'd be more acceptable.

"Hello, Pacifica," I tried using my most seductive voice. And it probably worked. "Hello, Gideon".

I woke him up from his... hopefully very damaging thoughts, and so he nodded his head, simply. "Oh, h-hi, Dipper," he mumbled. "Why a-are you here?"

Pacifica didn't notice he was almost losing his own balance. She was still staring at me.

Now that was a good combination. One admiring me, the other being afraid... That was all I could have asked for.

“I came to visit Wendy," I replied. “And you two, of course”.

Pacifica walked forward. “Ughhh, you're so greeeat!" she talked as if she was complaining. I could just see Gideon's expression change, and how I wanted to agree with her, just to make him angry. “I MEAN, not _great_ great, or maybe, yeah, great great. What would great great even mean? I just mean you're so thoughtful and good to us and you make me smile and I love watching you. BUT NOT IN A WEIRD WAY, you know what I mean, what am I even saying?”

“Wow Pacifica, keep your shirt on," Wendy interrupted, and both she and I laughed.

“Oh no, that's not what I mean," Pacifica giggled and covered her face. She was still strange, although I could really use her to piss Gideon off.

“But thoughtful he really is, Pacifica". That was definitely sarcasm. "I had never seen Dipper not be busy in over two years”.

I laughed at Wendy's words. They weren't entirely untrue. I made up an excuse.

“Yeah, I asked my butler Will if he could help me with stuff today. So I'm free”.

“Will you be free tomorrow?”

“Wow, Pacifica”, said Wendy.

I couldn't say yes. I really wanted to mess with Gideon, but I really couldn't. Stanford was the reason.

“Not tomorrow, sorry," I replied, trying to be as sweet as I could possibly pretend to be. “But there's a festival on Saturday, do you wanna come?”

I hadn't been planning to go to that festival. Gravity Falls festivals were never my thing, always too crowded. But right there? Seeing Gideon shake his head? Watching Pacifica's eyes glow up? Yeah, now I was going to that festival without a single hesitation.

"Yeah! Yeah, okay, I can go!"

"Perfect".

She was jumping inside, I could see. Wendy and Gideon were both probably uncomfortable with what was happening, but Wendy did wink at me. She always did that a lot.

“So you're not coming to my party I haven't invited you to yet tomorrow?” she asked. "I can't," I replied. Not that I felt like going. Parties were also never my thing.

“Can we come?!” Pacifica yelled. Wendy laughed and nodded, "sure".

I couldn't imagine Pines going to a party. I tried to think of him in one, probably scared of everyone and everything.

And Pacifica, probably gullible and helpless like she was.

Pacifica Southeast. I didn't think I'd find another target that early in the summer. But she was now part of the game.


End file.
